Matthew 18:21 & 22 “(21) Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? (22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
I’ve been meditating on the idea of forgiveness ever since Bro. Samuel Philbert preached on the subject in Sunday School this past Lord’s Day. In these verses of Matthew 18, Jesus commands Christians to forgive others regardless of how many offences have been committed prior. In Luke 17:4, Jesus says that if our brother sin against us 7 times in a single day, if they repent of the sins they have committed, we ought to forgive them 7 times that day.
The Lord has shown me 3 simple truths about forgiveness:
1.) Forgiveness is Ingrained in the Character of a Christian! If you have the spiritual fruits of love, longsuffering, temperance, gentleness and meekness then you are already conditioned to forgive others! If we don’t forgive, our spirit is not truly Christ Like.
2.) We Forgive Because We are Forgiven! It hurts to be wronged by another. But that hurt is easily soothed by the Balm of Gilead when we realize that OUR wrongs wounded the Son of God much more than anyone has hurt us. If I forgive for Christ’s sake, Christ will help take away any residual pain left by a wounded heart, hurt feelings, or bruised ego.
3.) Our Forgiveness should never run out! If I strive to keep the commandment to be holy as God is Holy, I will forgive the 491st time that someone repents and asks for my forgiveness. God has never refused to forgive any one of our sins! His forgiveness is not limited. There is but one requirement … REPENT. If the one who wronged us repents of their offense, forgiveness should already be waiting on them, just as the Lord’s forgiveness and restoration is always waiting for us.
A Christ Like person does not have to labor over forgiving another. It is not a burden or hardship to forgive. It is a joy! What once was broken now can be made whole again! Our forgiveness should have no boundaries. So long as they repent, forgiveness should flow from our hearts as it flows from the nailed scarred hands of Jesus Christ.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
NOTE: Click HERE to watch Bro. Philbert’s lesson or head over to the podcast section of our app and listen to it!
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